Contemporary India Lecture Series
October 12th, 2007

“Economic Globalization and the Digital Divide in India”

Arvind Subramanian, Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics
Senior Fellow, Center for Global Development, Senior Research Professor, Johns Hopkins University

Nirvikar Singh, Professor of Economics, University of California, Santa Cruz

J. P. Singh, Associate Professor, Communication, Culture and Technology Program, Georgetown University

David Good, Moderator, Chief Representative TATA North America

Co-sponsored by the Center for South Asia, the Center for International Business Education and Research, UW-Madison, the Division of International Studies, UW-Madison, TATA-North America, and the Center for World Affairs and the Global Economy (WAGE) , UW-Madison

 

India’s astounding performance in information technology is hailed as a great hope for the future development of the country. The industry is one of India’s fastest-growing sectors; its software analysts are prestigious export in themselves and India a center for overseas data processing from accounts to customer calls. But this brave new world of opportunity hasn’t embraced everyone. The vast majority of Indians, 60% of the population, still live in villages and bridging this gap between villagers outside and computers inside is one of India’s greatest challenges.

Interestingly, there are many experiments and initiatives testing out new technologies (the simcomputer for instance) in order to narrow the digital divide in India. Even the corporate sector is discovering this gap could translate into new market opportunities. This panel of experts explores the various issues that arise from these dilemmas and experiments.